Tensions escalating over Syria

These are the headlines we are tracking for you in this episode of On the News Line:

Tensions escalating over Syria

The Syria crisis has dramatically deteriorated and could get totally out of hand any time. The escalation involving major players, the United States and Russia, was triggered by a recent chemical attack in Syria. Russia and the Syrian government vehemently deny any knowledge of the incident in Eastern Ghouta. But the United States and its allies have pointed the finger of blame at the Syrian government without providing any evidence. The Western bloc has dismissed Russia’s calls for an international probe into what really happened on Saturday evening. U.S. President Donald Trump and his advisors are said to be considering a major military campaign against the Syrian government. The U.S. president has cancelled a trip to Latin America to focus on plans for action on Syria. Some say if the U.S. decides to strike Syria again, the campaign will be much larger in scale than the limited missile strike in April 2017.

Qatar cast as outcast

A few days after Donald Trump met the Saudi crown prince, the U.S. president is now hosting the Emir of Qatar, a country under diplomatic blockade by Saudi Arabia and its allies since June 2017. Now welcoming the emir of this rich-oil country, Trump was more than a bit player in the formation of the crisis: He firmly sided with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and other neighbors who accused Qatar of funding terrorism, spreading extremism, and provoking regional unrest.